20 Dec
2004
20 Dec
'04
12:16 a.m.
Lee Revell wrote:
On Sun, 2004-12-19 at 23:29 +0200, John Anderson
wrote:
I got a few axes that make me lose my temper when I try to tune
them...is that the same thing?? :)
On Sun, 2004-12-19 at 18:55, Russell Hanaghan
wrote:
I think this is called "well tempered tuning".
Lee
Fact is, it is impossible to tune an acoustic
guitar
"perfectly"...Invariably, when you have it tuned so an open G chord
sounds spot on, an open A or even C will be a tad off. And the same
applies to the inverse of course. This all due to a general lack of
adjustment for intonation on acoustic axes.
Actually, even guitars with adjustable bridge saddles won't be perfectly
in tune with themselves, except for octaves, 4ths and fifths which are
close enough that one can't really hear the difference. This is because
the frets are in the wrong place in relation to the overtone series
(pl). This applies to any instrument that has fixed notes (piano springs
to mind), and which use the 12-tone equal temperament tuning.
It's a long story, so I won't go into detail. Google for Just Intonation
if you want to know more. It sheds a different light on various
questions like, where *is* that confounded blue note? Why do major
chords sound crap on overdrive? What's the deal with barbershop and
string quartets? Why is D minor the saddest key? If I tune the B string
by ear to the G string, why is it out of tune with the E string?